Welcome to the Horror University

"Coward! Look at this grown man, even afraid of stone lions..."

"Seriously... How could Jingxia University admit someone like him? Making a fool of himself right at the entrance on the first day of school, how embarrassing..."

"Let's just mind our own business and show some decency."

"..."

It was the university security guard, and not just any guard but a recently retired member of a special forces unit from a military district. Brother Gang pushed through the crowd and helped up the fallen Lucas, asking, "Are you alright, classmate? Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?"

Lucas knew he had made a huge fool of himself and didn't want to linger at the entrance any longer. He shook his head and said, "Thank you, I'm fine." Then, he dared not look at the stone lions on both sides or at any of the other students. With his head lowered, he rushed towards the entrance of Jingxia University.

"Wait!"

Just as Lucas was about to step into the gates of Jingxia University, someone stepped forward and blocked his path, saying, "Excuse me, but I suspect whether you are truly a student admitted to Jingxia this year. After all, every year there are people who sneak into the school during the influx of new students and deceive inexperienced freshmen through various means. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the belongings carried by our students, we do not allow anyone with ill intentions to infiltrate the campus. This is the responsibility of our disciplinary team, so please cooperate. Please show me your admission letter."

The voice of this young man was quite loud, and many people around heard it. Immediately, discussions broke out among the crowd, and they looked at Lucas with curious eyes.

Upon hearing this, Lucas's blood boiled.

Perhaps this tall and handsome young man really meant what he said about preventing suspicious individuals from entering the campus, hence the need to check Lucas's admission letter. However, the condescending manner in which he scrutinized Lucas, as if looking at a criminal, truly hurt Lucas's self-esteem!

Lucas was never one to be bullied. Children from the countryside may possess the diligence and simplicity of those from the mountains, but they are not lacking in the wildness and resilience bestowed upon them by the mountains. Therefore, Lucas never sought trouble, nor did he fear it.

He glared angrily at the tall and handsome young man in front of him, burying his deep sense of inferiority deep within his heart. At the same time, his eyes scanned the handsome young man's name tag, committing his name to memory.

Guzhe Ji.

His hand, however, did not hesitate. He pulled out a beautifully framed card emitting a strong scholarly aura from his old backpack and slapped it onto the chest of the handsome young man.

In response to Lucas's attitude, Guzhe Ji furrowed his brows tightly. He opened the admission letter and carefully examined every detail on it. He even made a phone call to the admissions office to verify before returning the admission letter to Lucas. "Yin, welcome to Jingxia University. I hope you have a pleasant learning and living experience here."

Lucas took the admission letter without looking at Guzhe Ji's slightly narrowed eyes and walked past him.

He then approached the entrance gate, lifted his foot, and stepped over the threshold of Jingxia...

However, strangely enough, just as his foot had crossed the threshold, it inexplicably stumbled on the doorstep. Suddenly, Lucas's frail body lost balance and lunged forward!

The next moment, everything went black before Lucas's eyes, and he completely lost consciousness.

After some time, Lucas slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he did upon waking up was not to ponder over what had happened or why he had inexplicably fainted, but rather to quickly feel his chest. When he realized that the object he had placed inside his clothes was still there, he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, thank goodness!"

That object was the result of two months of hard work, as well as all his savings from recent years, totaling 15,000 yuan. For Lucas, this money meant more than just tuition and living expenses. In a sense, it was even more important than his own life—it was a testament to his independence, proving that he could earn money to support himself without relying on his family, and even provide for his two younger sisters' education.

Therefore, the symbolic significance of this money far surpassed its purchasing power.

Once he confirmed that his money was still intact, Lucas began to contemplate his situation. At the same time, he slowly got up and looked around.

At first glance, he couldn't make much sense of his surroundings, but as he took a closer look, Lucas's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

What did he see?!

He saw many people, countless people.

Of course, the presence of many people alone wouldn't have left him stunned and speechless. After all, the country was never lacking in population, and Lucas had seen even larger crowds before. What was strange, however, was that all these people were lying on the ground, unconscious for reasons unknown. Some were lying face down, others on their backs, some were straight while others were curled up. Some were even lying on top of another person. This scene reminded him of a picture he had seen online, where a group of foreigners protested against their government's policies by simply lying down in a square instead of participating in a demonstration or march, expressing their discontent in this unconventional way.

The scene before him was reminiscent of that image he had seen!

"What on earth is happening!?"

Lucas's usually sharp mind was momentarily overwhelmed.

As he observed his surroundings, he noticed that the sky was not the usual deep blue, but rather a peculiar dark red. The sky was covered in interconnected black clouds, with only occasional gaps allowing glimpses of the dark red sky. The black clouds remained motionless, completely still, giving the impression of a cold-toned painting, an eerie yet realistic depiction.

Suppression, a profound sense of suppression, both physically and mentally, Lucas felt an unprecedented feeling of oppression, so much so that he couldn't even breathe.

Surrounding him were buildings, tall and short, cylindrical and square. These were ordinary modern-style buildings, but what was peculiar was the color they were painted in—a uniform dark red. In stark contrast to these dark red buildings were the trees planted around them. Their color was not the vibrant green that trees should have, but a dull gray. It seemed as if they were not trees at all, but clusters of shadows.

Furthermore, on these gray trees, there were fruits of a deep blue color—let's call them fruits for now. The deep blue light flickered, resembling twinkling stars.

Strange, eerie, and sinister!

Lucas felt as if he was trapped in a nightmare. In his understanding, such a scene could only exist in a nightmare. He suddenly wanted to pinch himself to see if it hurt.

"Hey, buddy, where are we?"

As Lucas stood there in a daze, more people began to wake up one after another. They were all just as bewildered and lost as Lucas. Some even screamed in fear, cried, or cursed. In an instant, the once silent playground became lively.

The person who asked Lucas was one of those who woke up after him.

Lucas looked at him—a young man of similar age, equally handsome and tall, dressed in designer clothes. However, his expression seemed more sincere, at least not repulsive. Lucas replied, "I don't know either. I woke up here. Could it be... this is the 'Jingxia University' that I got accepted into!?"

The handsome young man widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Here? Jingxia University!? No, this definitely isn't Jingxia. I've been there, and it looks completely different. And do you think the nationally renowned Jingxia would look so eerie and terrifying?"

"Huh? Something is burning hot!" The young man suddenly cried out in alarm, frantically taking out a card from his pocket. It turned out to be an admission notice.

Almost simultaneously, Lucas also felt a burning sensation in his hand. He looked at it and realized that it was the Jingxia admission notice he had been holding all along – except now it had changed its appearance. It had turned a dark red color with eerie black patterns. If it weren't for the words "Jingxia University" still visible on it, he would have thought his notice had been swapped.

"Look, there are words on it!!" a strange voice suddenly sounded.

"Really... there are words! It's haunted!!"

Lucas shuddered as he opened the admission notice, only to be confronted with a chilling scene.

On the notice, a flame suddenly ignited and began dancing across the paper, leaving behind a scorching trail. And what it spelled out was -

Welcome to the Horror University!